A thousand years ago, people believed that being able to count was what made humans different from animals. But now it turns out that lots of animals can count. And elephants are top of the class when it comes to sums, according to scientists. So how do they know that? They tested an elephant called Ashiya, using 2 tin buckets and a load of apples. They dropped 3 apples … [Read more...]
Who invented maths?
Yeah, but who invented maths? .. was one of my favourite questions this week. I’m not sure whether the student was just a little bored and wanted a diverting chat, or whether there was a genuine interest. Either way it did get me thinking. Here’s what probably happened: A long time ago there lived a boy with an unpronounceable name. So we’ll call him Eric. He … [Read more...]